Method relating to a vehicle parking cash-payment system

ABSTRACT

A method of making cash payments in a vehicle parking system in which a mobile telephone ( 1 ) is used to commence and terminate parking of a vehicle, and where a telephone user sends at least one code to a receiving computer ( 2 ) belonging to the parking system via said mobile telephone upon commencement and termination of a parking period. The invention is characterised in that there is used a start packet which includes a user specific code ( 7 ), a one-time code, such as a PIN code, a telephone number to said computer ( 2 ), and a statement as to the amount of money available for parking purposes; in that when connecting to the parking system, the mobile telephone ( 1 ) is caused to be connected to said computer ( 2 ) via said telephone number, whereafter the user specific code ( 7 ) and the one-time code are caused to be sent to said computer by means of the mobile telephone; in that said computer ( 2 ) is caused to detect and store the number of the mobile telephone ( 1 ); in that said computer is caused to compare the user specific code and the one-time code; in that when agreement is found between the user specific code and the one-time code, the user specific code is stored together with the number of the mobile telephone and the amount of money available for parking purposes; and in that commencement and termination of a parking period are respectively initiated by causing the mobile telephone ( 1 ) to be connected to a predetermined telephone number belonging to said computer ( 2 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method that pertains to a vehicleparking cash-payment system in which a mobile telephone can be used tocommence and to terminate parking of a vehicle and in which a telephoneuser sends at least one code to a receiving computer via a mobiletelephone system when commencing and terminating a parking period.

2. Description of the Related Art

Swedish Patent Specification No. 9800888-1 teaches a system for parkingvehicles with the aid of a mobile telephone. According to this patentspecification, data carried on a cash card or some like card in thepossession of the telephone user and accepted by the parking system as ameans of payment, and at least one user-specific reference, are storedand tied together in a database belonging to the parking companyconcerned.

Preferably, the user-specific reference will include part of the numberof the telephone used in connection with parking of the vehicle. Thetelephone number is caused to be detected by the parking system computerwhen the telephone is connected to a telephone number belonging to theparking system.

According to one embodiment, the user-specific reference includes avehicle-specific reference in the form of a plastic card orcorresponding data carrier, wherein the reference is comprised of amachine readable code on the card. A vehicle-specific reference may, ofcourse, alternatively be the vehicle registration number.

According to this embodiment, the cash card tied to the telephone numberin the database is validated for billing purposes by detecting thetelephone number in question when connecting the telephone to theparking system.

The vehicle parking system may be such as to require a car parkattendant either to read-off the vehicle registration number or,alternatively, said machine readable code, when checking whether or notcommencement of a parking period has been announced.

In accordance with said patent, the car park attendants are equippedwith a portable communications unit which is in wireless connection witha computer belonging to the company that owns the car park concerned andcontaining information relating to vehicles that have commenced aparking period but have not yet terminated parking. The communicationsunit may, for instance, be designed in accordance with the control unitdescribed in Swedish Patent Specification 9700054-1. In this case thecar park attendant enters the identity of the parking zone concernedinto the control unit, which then fetches from the computer a so-calledparked car list that lists the vehicles properly parked in the parkingzone in question, i.e., a list of the registration numbers of vehiclesthat have announced commencement of a parking period. The control unitthen compares the read registration numbers with the parked car list andgives an indication when commenced parking has not been announced.

Commencement and termination of a parking period can thus be announcedvery smoothly and effectively by a telephone.

However, a problem arises in the case of people that do not have accessto a cash card that can be used for vehicle parking billing purposes.These people cannot utilize the above-described system.

The present invention solves this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention thus relates to a method of cash payment invehicle parking systems in which a mobile telephone is used to commenceand to terminate parking of a vehicle, and in which the telephone usersends at least one code to a receiving computer belonging to the parkingsystem via the mobile telephone when commencing and terminating aparking period. The method involves using a start packet that includes auser-specific code and a one-time code, such as a PIN code, a telephonenumber to said computer, and notice of the amount of money available forparking purposes. When connecting to the parking system the mobiletelephone is connected to said computer via said telephone number. Theuser-specific code and the one-time code are then sent to said computervia the mobile telephone and the computer is caused to detect and storethe number of the mobile telephone. The computer is caused to comparethe user-specific code and the one-time code, and when agreement isfound between the user-specific code and the one-time code, theuser-specific code is stored, together with the number of the mobiletelephone and a given sum of money for use in paying parking fees.Commencement and termination of a parking period are respectivelyinitiated by causing the mobile telephone to be connected to apredetermined telephone number belonging to said computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail partly with referenceto exemplifying embodiments thereof shown on the accompanying drawing,in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a telephone system and a vehicleparking system; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a carrier provided with a user-specific code.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a method of cash payment in vehicleparking systems in which a mobile telephone is used to commence and toterminate a parking period.

When commencing and terminating parking of a vehicle, a user sends atleast one code to a receiving computer 2 belonging to the parkingsystem, via the mobile telephone 1. The code may consist of or includethe number of the calling telephone.

A telephone system of a known type is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includesa base station 3 and an exchange or switching center 4 belonging to thenetwork operator concerned. The computer 2 is connected to the exchange4 via a fixed telephone network in a known fashion.

The computer 2 is connected to a database 5 in which is storedinformation required for commencing and terminating parking respectivelyby means of a mobile telephone.

According to the invention, there is used a start packet which includesa user-specific code, a one-time code, such as a PIN code, a telephonenumber to the computer 2, and notice of a sum of money available forcovering parking fees. Such a start packet is purchased by the user froma retail establishment that sells such start packets. This establishmentmay be a bookstore, a newsagent, a shop, or a special sales booth.

When a person has purchased a start packet and wishes to connect withthe parking system, using his mobile telephone he calls the telephonenumber of the parking system computer 2 given in the start packet. Thisnumber to the computer telephone is a number particularly intended foruse when connecting to the system.

When connection with the computer 2 has been established, the computermay ask the user, through the medium of a voice message, to provide theuser-specific code and the one-time code. This is done by entering thecodes on the telephone keypad. The codes are then sent to the computer.

The computer is therewith caused to detect and store the number of themobile telephone. The computer is then caused to compare theuser-specific code and the one-time code. In the production of thevarious parts of the start packet, all user-specific codes have beenpaired together with an associated one-time code, this information beingfound stored in the database 5. When agreement is found between theuser-specific code and the one-time code, the computer 2 is caused tostore the user-specific code together with the number of the mobiletelephone and said sum of money for which parking may take place.

With regard to the sum of money, the start packet may cost, for example,SEK 500 to buy, of which SEK 450 is available for parking purposes.

According to a first embodiment, the user-specific code is amachine-readable code and is provided in the start packet on a carrier6, said carrier 6 being intended to be placed in the vehicle in a waywhich will enable the machine readable code 7 to be read from outsidethe vehicle when carrying out a parking control check.

Commencement and termination of a parking period are respectivelyinitiated by causing the mobile telephone to be connected to apredetermined telephone number belonging to said computer. This numbermay be a number that applies to a given parking zone. When parking hisvehicle, the user places the carrier with the machine-readableuser-specific code positioned so that a car park attendant is able toread the code.

To this end, the carrier is intended to be placed in the vehicle in amanner that will allow the machine-readable code to be read from outsidethe vehicle when carrying out a parking check. For instance, when thecarrier 6 has the form of an adhesive strip, the strip may be stuck tothe inner surface of the vehicle windscreen with the code facingoutwards. The code 7 may be a bar code that can be read mechanically bythe car park attendant and compared with a parked card list stored inthe computer 2. The code may also be given explicitly, as shown in FIG.2.

According to a second, alternative embodiment, the vehicle registrationnumber is sent to said computer via the mobile telephone, whenconnecting to the parking system. In this case, the computer stores thevehicle registration number coupled to the user-specific code. Theregistration number may be sent by means of a so-called SMS message, orin some other way. For instance, the registration number may betransmitted with the use of codes where 0=00, 1=01, 2=02 . . . 9=09 andwhere A=10, B=11, C=12, . . . etc.

When carrying out a parking control check, the registration numbers ofparked vehicles are compared with a so-called parked car list, byreading-off the registration numbers of parked vehicles with the aid ofa suitable known control unit, and comparing the registration numberscoupled to a user-specific code in the computer.

When commencing a parking period, the computer 2 is caused to detect thenumber of a calling mobile telephone and to indicate in the computer theassociated user-specific code as belonging to a vehicle for which aparking fee amount has been prepaid.

When terminating a parking period, the computer is caused to detect thenumber of a calling mobile telephone and therewith indicate in thecomputer the associated user-specific code as belonging to a vehicle forwhich a parking fee has not yet been paid.

When parking of a vehicle has been terminated, the computer is caused tosubtract the relevant parking fee from the sum of money available forparking purposes, from an account tied to the telephone number or to theuser-specific code.

Preferably, a telephone voice message informing the user of how muchmoney is available for parking purposes or the length of parking timecovered by available funds in the parking zone concerned will begenerated by the computer at the commencement of a parking period.

According to a preferred embodiment, there can be obtained a refillpacket that includes at least one one-time code, such as a PIN code, anda given sum of money. This refill packet can be purchased in the sameway as the start packet.

When the refill packet is to be used, the mobile telephone is connectedto the computer and the one-time code is sent to the computer via themobile telephone. In this case, the mobile telephone number concerned isthe number that has already been connected to the system on the basis ofthe start packet. The computer is then caused to detect the number ofthe mobile telephone and to store said number and the sum of moneyavailable together with the user-specific code that belongs to thetelephone number of the mobile telephone concerned.

If no funds are available in the account, the telephone user can be soinformed through the medium of a telephone voice message when connectingthe mobile telephone to the computer 2.

The present invention thus solves the problem mentioned in theintroduction.

Although the invention has been described above with reference toseveral exemplifying embodiments thereof, it will be obvious that thesystem can be varied with respect to the number of codes required toobtain access to the system, among other things. The code carrier canalso be designed for the code to be read magnetically or in some othermachine-readable manner.

The present invention shall not therefore be considered restricted tothe above described exemplifying embodiments thereof, as variations andmodifications can be made within the scope of the following claims.

1. A method of making cash payments for parking in a vehicle parkingsystem, in which a mobile telephone is used by a parking system user tocommence and to terminate a parking period of a vehicle and where aparking system user sends via a mobile telephone at least one code to areceiving computer belonging to the parking system upon commencement andupon termination of a parking period, said method comprising the stepsof: purchasing by a parking system user of a start packet for use by theparking system user, which start packet includes a user-specific code, aone-time code paired with the user-specific code, a given telephonenumber to access the parking system computer, and identifies a specificprepaid amount of money available for parking purposes, wherein thestart packet is purchased and prepaid by the parking system user at thetime of purchase of the start packet; commencing a parking period by theparking system user connecting by use of a mobile telephone to theparking system computer via the given telephone number included in thepurchased start packet; transmitting from the parking system user to theparking system computer via the mobile telephone the user-specific codeand the associated one-time code included in the purchased start packet;detecting and storing the number of the mobile telephone in the parkingsystem computer; comparing in the parking system computer theuser-specific code and the paired one-time code transmitted by theparking system user with paired user-specific and one-time codespreviously stored in the parking system computer, and, when agreement isfound between the user-transmitted user-specific code and pairedone-time code with the paired user-specific and one-time codespreviously stored in the parking system computer storing the transmitteduser-specific code together with the number of the mobile telephone andthe prepaid amount of money associated with the user-specific andone-time codes included in the start packet and available for parkingpurposes and without withdrawing any amount from the prepaid amount forparking payment purposes until termination of the parking period;terminating the parking period using the mobile telephone to connect tothe given parking system telephone number; accessing an account storedin the parking system computer and associated with at least one of themobile telephone number and the parking system user's user-specificcode; and subtracting a relevant parking fee from said prepaid amountstored in the parking system computer upon termination of a parkingperiod, wherein the parking system user is not subsequently separatelybilled for the cost of a parking period.
 2. A method according to claim1, including the steps of detecting the telephone number of a callingmobile telephone at the commencement of a parking period, and storing inthe computer the associated user-specific code as belonging to a vehiclefor which an amount for a parking fee has been prepaid; and detectingthe number of the calling mobile telephone upon termination of a parkingperiod; verifying in the computer the user-specific code correspondingwith the calling mobile telephone as belonging to a vehicle for which aparking fee has not yet been paid.
 3. A method according to claim 1,wherein the user-specific code is a machine-readable code provided on acode carrier in the start packet, and including the step of placing thecode carrier in the vehicle in a way which will allow themachine-readable code to be read from outside the vehicle during aparking control check.
 4. A method according to claim 1, including thesteps of: transmitting a registration number associated with the vehicleto the computer via the mobile telephone when connecting to the parkingsystem; storing the registration number in association with theuser-specific code; and comparing the registration numbers of parkedvehicles with a parked car list of vehicles that have commenced aparking period to carry out a parking control check.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1, including the steps of: purchasing a refill packetfor use by the parking system user and which contains at least one newone-time code and an indicated additional prepaid sum of money;connecting the mobile telephone to the computer and transmitting the newone-time code to the computer using the mobile telephone; detecting thenumber of the mobile telephone and storing the mobile telephone numberand the additional sum of money together with the user-specific codebelonging to the number of the mobile telephone.
 6. A method accordingto claim 5, wherein the one-time code is a PIN code.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the one-time code is a PIN code.
 8. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the user-specific code and theassociated one-time code are transmitted to the parking system computerby entering the codes on the mobile telephone keypad during a telephoneconnection between the mobile telephone and the computer.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the user-specific code and the associatedone-time code are transmitted to the parking system computer by voicemessage during a telephone connection between the mobile telephone andthe computer.
 10. A method according to claim 1, including the step ofnotifying the parking system user by a telephone voice message whenconnected to the parking system if the prepaid amount of money has beenexpended.